WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Facing and since launching , President has cycled from calls for to sounding amenable to an end state in which Iran trades one for .
Shifting comments from the Republican president and his top aides are adding to the precariousness of the 12-day-old conflict, which is and causing economic tremors around the globe. With neither side budging, the war is now on an unpredictable path and a credible endgame is unclear.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday it was up to Trump 鈥渨hether it鈥檚 the beginning, the middle or the end鈥� of the war. Trump, during the course of one speech at a House Republican gathering Monday, went from calling the war a 鈥渟hort-term excursion鈥� that could end soon to proclaiming 鈥渨e haven鈥檛 won enough.”
鈥淲e have hit them harder than virtually any country in history has been hit, and we鈥檙e not finished yet,鈥� Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday.
The vacillation has fueled criticism from those who say Trump lacks a clear goal. 鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 have a plan,” Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., told reporters. “They have no timeline. And because of that, they have no exit strategy.鈥�
A constantly shifting goal line
Since ordering the Iran bombardment, Trump has continually shifted his timelines and goals for the war.
Over the past few days, Trump has called for the 鈥渦nconditional surrender” of Iran’s leaders, while suggesting he had already succeeded in achieving his objective of decimating Iran鈥檚 military.
At the same time, Trump’s team has sought to soothe anxious Americans that the war will not be long and drawn out even as the president has insisted he has not ruled out the option of using U.S. ground troops.
The U.S. military says it has effectively destroyed the Iranian navy and made huge strides in defanging Iran鈥檚 ability to launch missiles and drones at its neighbors. Yet , through which roughly 20% of the world鈥檚 oil passes on a typical day, remains essentially closed to business, and Iranian leaders are unbowed.
The Revolutionary Guard said Iran would not allow 鈥渁 single liter of oil鈥� through the vital waterway until the United States stopped its bombing campaign. , Iran鈥檚 top national security official, offered a menacing message on Tuesday after Trump had threatened to attack Iran 鈥淭WENTY TIMES HARDER鈥� if Tehran stopped oil flowing through the strait.
鈥淭he sacrificial nation of Iran doesn鈥檛 fear your empty threats,鈥� Larijani wrote on X. 鈥淓ven those bigger than you couldn鈥檛 eliminate Iran. Be careful not to get eliminated yourself.鈥�
Trump ally Newt Gingrich, a former Republican House speaker, said the administration should have moved on securing the strait on Day One of the conflict.
鈥淚f they can鈥檛 keep it open, this war will in fact be an American defeat before very long, because the entire world, including the American people, will react to the price of oil if the strait stay closed very long,鈥� Gingrich said in an appearance on Fox Business.
Making the case to Americans
Trump has struggled to make his case to Americans about why preemptive action against Iran was necessary and how it squared with his pledge to keep the United States out of the 鈥渇orever wars鈥� of the past two decades. Thus far, seven U.S. troops have been killed and from Iran.
One of several reasons Trump has offered to justify launching the war was that he had the U.S.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt slightly amended that position, telling reporters that the president 鈥渉ad a feeling鈥� that was 鈥渂ased on fact.鈥�
But Pentagon officials have told congressional staffers in private briefings that indicating that Iran was planning to preemptively attack the U.S.
Trump’s decision to attack Iran has not come with the rallying-around-the-flag effect that has typically accompanied the start of recent U.S. wars.
About half of voters in Quinnipiac and Fox 太子探花 polls said the U.S. military action in Iran makes the U.S. 鈥渓ess safe,鈥� while only about 3 in 10 in each poll said it made the country safer. A CNN poll found about half of U.S. adults thought the military action would make Iran 鈥渕ore of a threat鈥� to the U.S., while only about 3 in 10 thought it would lessen the danger.
In that CNN poll, about 6 in 10 U.S. adults said they trusted Trump 鈥渘ot much鈥� or 鈥渘ot at all鈥� to make the right decisions about the U.S. use of force in Iran.
European allies are treading carefully after British Prime Minister and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S谩nchez , who deemed them in backing his war of choice.
Trump on Wednesday lashed out again at Spain, which has said in any strikes not covered by the U.N. charter.
鈥淚 think they’ve been very bad 鈥� not good at all,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淲e may cut off trade with Spain.鈥�
Even German Chancellor , who has been broadly supportive of the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran, said on Tuesday that 鈥渕ore questions arise with every day of war.鈥�
Deflecting responsibility for school bombing
Trump has chosen to deflect responsibility for the bombing of a girl’s school in southern Iran on the first day of the conflict, killing at least 165 people.
Trump on Saturday blamed the attack on Iran, saying its security forces are “very inaccurate” with munitions.
On Monday, after the investigative group Bellingcat posted that showed a U.S. Tomahawk cruise missile hitting a Revolutionary Guard facility near the school, causing the explosion, Trump again insisted it could have been Iran’s fault but said that he would accept whatever a U.S. investigation into the matter might find.
The president that Tehran had access to Tomahawks, a U.S.-manufactured weapon system that is only available to the U.S. and a few close allies.
Asked by a reporter, Leavitt did not directly answer why Trump falsely asserted that Iran has access to the U.S.-made missile.
Instead, she responded in part that 鈥渢he president has a right to share his opinions with the American public鈥� while noting 鈥渉e has said he鈥檒l accept the conclusion of that investigation.鈥�
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters that Trump’s claim 鈥渋s beyond asinine.鈥�
鈥淎gain, he says whatever pops into his head no matter what the truth is,” Schumer said. 鈥淎nd we all know he lies, but on something as formidable as this, it鈥檚 appalling.鈥�
Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., was among Trump allies gently making the case that it was important for the administration to clarify what happened to the school.
Cramer said the military must 鈥渄o everything you can to eliminate those mistakes going forward.鈥�
鈥淏ut you also can鈥檛 undo it,” he added.
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This story has been corrected to show seven, not eight, U.S. troops have been killed.
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Associated Press writers Geir Moulson in Berlin and Joey Cappelletti, Ben Finley and Linley Sanders contributed to this report.
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